Sin City Adventures (A Zak Bagans FanFic)

Chapter 17: The Dungeon

I stand in Zak's bathroom with my wet hair, hiding my body behind a towel and stare at the dark circles that formed around my eyes. So much for dreams taking over my sleep last night. They were more like nightmares of Hill View Manor. Dakota's nightmares, or what I imagine to be his nightmares of that terrible place. I quietly open the bathroom door to find Zak still sleeping peacefully. I didn't know how he did it. Investigation after investigation and he still manages to keep it all together. I would go crazy if I were him. I guess we'll find out if I do with the more lockdowns I encounter. I slip on my jeans that I wore yesterday with my bra and one of Zak's t-shirts before heading downstairs. Gracie follows me so I let her out in the backyard. I was surprised that Zak was still sleeping as the stove clock told me it was 7:30 am. He's usually up by now starting his day.

As I start a pot of coffee and glance over at the French doors, Gracie whines letting me know she's ready to come back inside. I open the door to let her in, but instead she lures me outside to throw her ball a few times before Zak gets up. Thinking back to the first time I started playing with Gracie like this when Zak and I first met and starting hanging out brings a smile to my face. After a few minutes of Grace chasing her ball we head back inside to catch a glimpse of Zak's bare back walking down the stairs that hide behind the mysterious dungeon door. I'm uncertain if I should follow him down or just grab my cup of coffee and wait for him to return. I agree upon the latter and wait for Zak on my favorite barstool with my coffee. I was curious to know what the hell he kept so secret down there, but the fact that he didn't want me down there without him was a little unsettling. It was tough keeping my curiosities to myself with the dungeon door left wide open. I take a sip of my coffee as I hear the sound of Zak's footsteps coming back up the steps. "Oh, hey," Zak breathes a little startled to see me as he reaches the top of the steps and closes the door.

"Hey. Take care of your dead bodies down there?" I joke.

"Yup, they're all fed and watered," he continues along with my joke.

"Oh, ha ha," I giggle. "What do you keep down there, seriously?"

"How about you see for yourself?"

My eyes grow wide at Zak's words. I didn't think I would ever be allowed to go down there. "For real?"

"Yeah, I think you're ready to see it."

"Right now?"

"Are you scared?" Zak laughs as he makes his own cup of coffee. I shake my head though I was a little hesitant. "Come on." Zak sets down his coffee after taking a sip and reaches out to grab my hand. I reluctantly hop off the comfort zone of the barstool and follow Zak down the stairs as Gracie barks behind us. When we reach the bottom of the stairs Zak lets go of my hand and he opens his arms out to display a very large, dark stone room to be his dungeon. It was lit with mostly red lights and some regular lamps here and there. There was one wall of very old books that I would assume to be mocks of witches spell books and whatnot. There was a very large black and red throne sitting a corner of the dungeon, skulls on one wall, a fireplace on another, and knick knacks of all sorts kept in glass cases all over. I take a few steps further away from the steps and into the dungeon to get a closer look. "A lot of these artifacts I've gathered from lockdowns or collected from various places. Most of them are said to be cursed."

"Yeah, the vibe down here is insane," I shutter. I feel like it would take me hours of being down in here to really gather everything and process it all, but I was not about to spend that much time down here. "You sure have a lot of stuff."

"I know it's a bit overwhelming for the first time down here." I nod in agreement. "Shawn," Zak says calmly as he grabs my hand making my jump a little. I turn to face Zak and he lets out a little laugh before he gets all serious again. "I never said sorry and I really am sorry."